The HotBed Hoops Awards: Looking at some of the top moments in area high school basketball this season

File PhotoDon't even try to block Shaq Smith's floater.As someone who's spent an inordinate amount of time watching high school hoops this season, I feel like I have to do something with all of the random info rattling around in my head -- my family's getting sick of me enthralling them with tales of the diminutive Shaquille Smith getting his floater off against 6-foot-5 players.

So, I thought, why not hand out some completely made up awards? If friend of HotBed Hoops Ryan Slocum can do it, so can I. Here are some of my favorite moments, players and teams from this season in high school hoops. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Most unblockable shot: Smith's aforementioned floater. The Northern junior guard might not have the most height, but he has a lightning quick first step and when he gets in the lane he gets that shot off nearly every time, with reliable accuracy.

Best shooter: Patrick Haggin of Grand Blanc, and it's not really even close. Haggin's jumper is simply beautiful to watch -- it's exactly the same every time.

In fact, crowds react the same way to Smith's floater and Haggin's three-point shots: if either has an inch of space to get those shots off, it's assumed they're going in. Of course they both miss sometimes, but I'm not sure any other player in the area has a signature play that they own the way those two own their go-to shots.

Best leader: Powers' Patrick O'Brien is fearless, tough and clutch. There might not be a player in the area I'd rather have shooting in the fourth quarter of a close game than O'Brien. He's strong enough to bang with guys bigger than him under the basket and has enough finesse to step out, shoot the three and put the ball on the floor. There is not a more hard-nosed player in the area and he just seems like a great, great teammate.

The 'you don't want to be fouled by him' award: Danny O'Brien of
Powers is simply a tough, physical player. If there is contact, he is
going to come out on the better end of it, always.

File PhotoDanny (left) and Patrick (right) O'Brien might be the two most physical, hard-nosed players in the area.Best defensive big man: Northern senior Darrell Williams is lanky, athletic and has good defensive instincts, averaging nearly four blocks per game.

Best defensive guard: Glenn Cosey, Carman-Ainsworth. Cosey is a notoriously hard worker. He not only ran cross country for the first time as a senior, but he became one of the top runners in the area. He's quick, he's strong and he keeps people in front of him, not to mention he's one of the most fun players to watch simply because he just always looks like he's having a good time on the court.

Biggest shot (so far): This could obviously change as the playoffs roll on, but Patrick Lucas-Perry's shot late to give Powers the lead and win against Goodrich in the district opener was as big a shot as anyone's made this season. Lucas-Perry definitely has a strong sense of 'the moment' and has made big plays late in games throughout his high school career.

File PhotoJaylen Magee gets up and down the floor as well as anyoneSmoothest running the floor: There aren't many players smoother or more explosive than Northwestern's Jaylen Magee. The junior guard has many weapons at his disposal -- he can shoot, he can put it on the floor and he's a solid defensive player. But he's at his best filling the lanes, catching passes cutting to the basket. Short of having everyone line up in a foot race, there's no way to tell who the area's fastest players are, but if someone wants to put that race together, Magee would be a good contender to win it.

Most improved player: This is tough -- Powers' DeMarco Sanders went from great role player to leading scorer on a state title contender. Swartz Creek's Cody Campbell went from averaging single digits to leading the Metro League in scoring. Northern's Gerald Williams-Taylor became a do-it-all force after moving over from Central. But hands down, the most improved player was Grand Blanc's Marcus Tucker.

Tucker is one of the best stories in the area, a guy who was a bit player last season who simply put in the work and became a very good player and starter, averaging about 15 points per game. Tucker is absolutely fearless and was a big-shot taker and maker for the Bobcats all season. He's a strong guard with decent handle who has range and just simply had a great, unexpected season, although his coach, Chris Belcher, knew heading in that Tucker could be special.

Most diverse skillset: Hamady's Dominez Burnett plays down low for the Hawks, but he can do a bit of everything. A great scorer and rebounder, Burnett can play with his back to the basket, can step out and hit the three and can put the ball on the floor. He's explosive and capable of taking over any game that he's in offensively.

Top freshman: This is another crowded field -- Denzel Watts, Cullen Turczyn and Richmond Lewis, to name a few, all had big seasons.

But the best freshman this season was Beecher's Monte Morris, who is the top player on a good Bucs team and one of the most efficient scoring guards in the area. He's been lights out the second half of the season.

File PhotoDeMarco Sanders has had a breakout season.Top male player: While Powers' top three -- Patrick O'Brien, Patrick Lucas-Perry and DeMarco Sanders -- all have legit claims, and players such as Magee, Hamady's Dominez Burnett and Bentley's Joey Jerisk have the stats, I think it's Sanders.

He simply worked extremely hard in the offseason (not that others didn't) and became a better player than many imagined he would be at Powers, leading a team with two established stars in scoring and proving that he's a star in his own righ.

Top female player: Hamady’s Arlesia Morse would be a fine choice, but I have to go with Flushing’s Jordan LaDuke. Not only has the senior put together her normal standout season, but she’s done so primarily playing point guard for the Raiders, a position she hadn’t played much of heading into this season.

File PhotoJordan LaDuke has had a great career at Flushing.Toughest luck senior: Despite putting up major scoring numbers
all season, many may not know just how good Southwestern's Jojuan Graham
is. Graham led a very young Southwestern squad and often faced double
and triple teams as opponents tried to force the ball out of his hands.
He still managed to have a great season offensively and hopefully
imparted some of his knowledge and personality to his younger teammates,
who will be much improved next season.
File PhotoRoy 'The Snake' Jackson's game models his nickname.Best nickname: Gotta be 'The Snake.' Hamady senior Roy Jackson doesn't have a conventional game. He has a lithe build, he's long-armed for a guard and is, well, snake-like when he's maneuvering his way to the basket.

Top boys' coach (tie): Imagine ending last season starting a very talented fivesome who were all juniors, all returning to potentially lead one of the most experienced and talented teams in the area. Then throughout the offseason, slowly but surely, those plans fell apart.

That's the situation Grand Blanc coach Chris Belcher was in -- two top players transferred. Two others decided not to play as seniors to prepare for college football careers. On short notice, he was left with a vastly different team, but to watch any Grand Blanc game this season, you'd never know it.

Beecher's Mike Williams was in a similar situation -- top players defecting, leaving an extremely young nucleus.

File PhotoChris Belcher's Grand Blanc team battled through adversity and had a great season.Beecher and Grand Blanc play very different styles, but share one common, very basic trait: Williams and Belcher simply get consistent effort out of their squads every game. The teams undoubtedly lost some talent, but both had very good seasons when many expected otherwise.

The Flint area is blessed with many great coaches who won big this season.

Still, I'm not sure there were any coaches dealt tougher situations to deal with than Belcher or Williams, and both teams responded and battled all season, a testament both to the pride of the players on each team and the men leading them.

Both embodied this philosophy perfectly: they are going to win games regardless of who is on the team.

Top girls' coach: This was another tough choice for me -- do you go with the coaches who have built extraordinary programs and win year in, year out like Keith Smith at Hamady, Jason Gray at Goodrich or Larry Ford at Flushing, to name a few? Or do you go with the coach of the impressive, out-of-nowhere upstart team that surprised people?

I'm all about surprises, so that's why I'll go with Northwestern's Lamont Torbert. The Wildcats won eight games combined the last two years. Torbert took over an extremely young team laden with freshmen and sophomores on varsity and led the team to a 14-8 record.

Northwestern is far from a finished product, but such a drastic one-year turnaround certainly defied expectations.

Top five boys' teams:

1. Powers: A few teams have closed the gap, but the Chargers are still the class of the area, with three great scorers in O'Brien, Sanders and Lucas-Perry, as well as a young star-in-the-making in sophomore Javontae Hawkins and a good and underrated player in Pierre Brackett -- Brackett doesn't get the attention of some of his bigger name teammates, but he always seems to be in the right place on the court and is a big key to the team's success.

2. Carman-Ainsworth: They have size in the frontcourt, they have an explosive backcourt tandem in Glenn Cosey and Denzel Watts and when they are on their game and playing hard, they can play with any team in the state.

File PhotoDeondre Parks is part of a potent Northwestern perimeter attack.3. Goodrich: Too high for them, you say? Nonsense. The Martians are an elite program. They came within a couple minutes of beating Powers, they beat Flint Northwestern, they beat Hamady and Beecher twice each. They are a great, well-coached team. If more suburban teams adopted Gary Barns' "we'll play anyone, anywhere, any time" philosophy, Flint area basketball would be a lot better overall as a result.

4. Flint Northwestern: The Wildcats are not the biggest team, but their top three of Magee, Deondre Parks and Travon Mitchell can matchup with the top three on any team. They also have an underrated point guard in Ahasuerus McDonald, who is an extremely crafty finisher, and several hustle players up front who are undersized, but get on the boards and are very athletic.

5. Grand Blanc: There may be teams with more talent than Grand Blanc, but the Bobcats made up for it with sheer effort. They ran great schemes to get sharpshooter Patrick Haggin open looks and the scoring of Haggin and Tucker is complimented nicely complimented by up-and-coming sophomore guard Jordan Fields, as well as a collection of role players who all fill different needs. The Bobcats beat Goodrich this season and gave Carman-Ainsworth all it could handle in the opening round of districts.

Top five girls' teams:

1. Flushing: The LaDuke-led squad had a chance at a regional title, falling just short last night, and has improving size in the post in Emily Wendling and Connor Morrish. Flushing is well-coached, plays good defense and is just solid all-around.

2. Goodrich: The Martians might have the most balanced lineup of
any girls' team. They don't have one individual with superstar numbers, but they have a collection of players capable of stepping up and filling that role on any given night. Hamady might be slightly better, but the Martians beat the Hawks late in the season, so they get the benefit of the doubt in these rankings.

File PhotoThe Goodrich girls' basketball team wins in many different ways.3. Hamady: The Hawks are one of the top programs in the area. Led by Arlesia Morse, they might be the most physical, hard-nosed basketball team in the area -- and I don't just mean among girls' teams. Hamady comes right at you with relentless pressure for the entire game.

4. New Lothrop: If you like teams that play steady, fundamentally sound basketball, you'll love the Hornets. And oh yeah, expect to see a barrage of three-pointers as they have several players who can knock down shots from the perimeter.

5. Davison: Lauren Bellamy was arguably the most skilled big in the area this season, and Davison surrounded her with talented players who complimented her well. The Cardinals were expecting a longer playoff run before being upset by Northern, but were still one of the most talented teams in the area.